Naveen Urges Modi To Provide Interest Relief To Farmers On Medium Term Loans

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in a letter today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide farmers interest relief on Medium Term (Conversion) loans at par with the crop loans and also to extend the interest incentive of 3 percent admissible on crop loans to the Medium Term (Conversion) loans.

In the letter to the Prime Minister, Naveen Patnaik highlighted that during the current Kharif season, paddy crops in some parts of Odisha has got affected and damaged due to drought and pest attack resulting in hardships for hundreds of farmers of such areas.

“The Union Government provides interest incentive at 3 percent to the prompt paying farmers in respect of crop loans, which is not provided to farmers in case of conversion of such crop loans in the event of occurrence of natural calamities. As a result, the interest rate on the converted loans continue to remain at a higher rate which is as high as 11.20 percent,” Naveen pointed out in his letter.

“Similarly, the interest on crop loans is not subsidized as interest subvention for the same is not available. In my opinion, when crop loans are converted to Medium Term loans, the Interest rate should remain at par with the crop loans,” he argued.

Likewise, the incentive made available to the prompt paying farmers for crop loans should also be extended to the Medium Term (Conversion) loans to provide relief to the farmers affected due to drought and pest attack,” Naveen urged.